Terms of use
What you may do with what is here, what is promised, and what is not.
Last updated 23 October 2026.
This is a free site with no accounts, no sign-up and nothing for sale. These terms are short because there is little to agree to. Using the site means accepting them.
Who runs this
Samu Leino, Finland. Contact: privacy@oldbelief.com.
The writing
The text on the creature pages is written here and is protected by copyright. You may quote it with attribution, as you would any source. You may not republish whole pages.
Every page names the works it draws on. Those works belong to their own authors and publishers, and nothing here grants any right to them.
The illustrations
The illustrations are AI-generated and are published under CC BY-NC 4.0. The terms and what they allow are set out on the illustrations page.
What is promised about accuracy
The folklore described here is contested, regional and recorded unevenly. Pages say what the named sources say, and where sources disagree the pages try to say so. Mistakes are still possible.
Nothing here is advice of any kind. If something is wrong, write and it will be corrected; that offer is genuine and the address above is read.
What is not promised
The site is provided as it is. There is no guarantee that it will be available, that it will be free of errors, or that it will stay in its current form. It can change or stop without notice.
Links out
Pages link to libraries, archives and publishers. Those sites are run by other people under their own terms, and linking to them is not an endorsement of anything on them.
Doing harm to the site
Do not attempt to break the site, overload it, or harvest it automatically at a rate that affects other readers. Ordinary reading, linking, quoting and classroom use are exactly what it is for.
Privacy
What is collected and what is not is described in full on the privacy page.
Changes
These terms can change. The Last updated date above is how you can tell. Continuing to use the site after a change means accepting the revised terms.
Which law applies
Finnish law applies, and disputes belong to the courts of Finland. If you are a consumer resident elsewhere in the European Union, this does not remove the protections of the mandatory consumer law of your own country.